1.
MBC Group
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The Middle East Broadcasting Center Group is the first private free-to-air satellite broadcasting company in the Arab World. It was launched in London in 1991 and later moved to its headquarters in Dubai in 2002, MBC Group provides multiple channels of information, interaction and entertainment. The Group also includes two stations, MBC FM, and Panorama FM, as well as O3 productions. MBC is a free-to-air, pan-Arab, news and entertainment broadcaster and it was launched in 1991 as the first privately owned and independent Arabic satellite TV station. MBC was the first broadcaster to provide a satellite-based free-to-air 24-hour television network across the Arab world and it has remained privately owned, managed by a group of businessmen and shareholders, including chairman and CEO Sheikh Waleed Bin Ibrahim Al Brahim. The shareholder list has never been verified, over the past 25 years, MBC has grown into a multi-channel platform. At its launch, MBC offered entertainment programmes that were popular in the Middle East as well as top-rating shows from Western markets, in particular the United States. The MBC News at 9, 00pm became regularly viewed in the Arabic-speaking world, MBCs television arm, MBC TV, broadcasts via Arabsat and Nilesat satellites, and delivers news and entertainment to more than 150 million Arabic speakers around the world. MBC Headquarters is located in Dubai Media City, the company has more than 1,800 staff members worldwide. The first station in the group, MBC1 offers offer both Arabic entertainment and news content, MBC News at 9 pm provides coverage of domestic and international news. MBC has become regions first broadcaster to provide free to air HD channels by launching the HD versions of MBC1, MBC DRAMA, MBC4, MBC2, MBC MAX, MBC ACTION, all of MBC channel are free-to-air channels except for the HD channels and MBC Plus Variety. They are available on OSN, STCs Invision IPTV and my-HD satellite service and they are all Pay-TV service providers in the Middle East. Launched in 1991 as the first independent Pan Arab channel, MBC1 is the first free-to-air private satellite channel, today, hosting the news service in the region and with a commitment to local programming- from soap operas to hit reality TV shows. The first free-to-air movie channel in the Arab world, MBC2 offers a 24-hour non-stop stream of Hollywood movies, from blockbusters to classics, long kisses on the lips and any sexual related acts are cut from the films. A children’s entertainment channel which delivers a mix of childrens education. MBC3 also airs a locally produced reality show for kids, Eish Safari, recently, the channel produced a new game show called Graduate In A Day, similar in concept to Who Wants To Be A Millionaire for children and their parents. Today, the channel is geared towards MBC own production, based on international formats, the channel has aired the biggest production for the Group, Arabs Got Talent, in addition to various other shows, some MBC produced, others co-produced or through acquisitions. MBC launched MBC Bollywood on 26 October 2013, the day as the season three premiere of Arabs Got Talent
2.
1080i
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1080i is an abbreviation referring to a combination of frame resolution and scan type, used in high-definition television and high-definition video. The number 1080 refers to the number of lines on the screen. The term assumes a widescreen ratio of 16,9, so the 1080 lines of vertical resolution implies 1920 columns of horizontal resolution. A1920 pixels ×1080 lines screen has a total of 2.1 megapixels and this format is used in the SMPTE 292M standard. The choice of 1080 lines originates with Charles Poynton, who in the early 1990s pushed for square pixels to be used in HD video formats, within the designation 1080i, the i stands for interlaced scan. A frame of 1080i video consists of two fields of 1920 horizontal and 540 vertical pixels. The first field consists of all odd-numbered TV lines and the second all even numbered lines, 1080i differs from 1080p, where the p stands for progressive scan, where all lines in a frame are captured at the same time. In native or pure 1080i, the two fields of a frame correspond to different instants, so motion portrayal is good and this is true for interlaced video in general and can be easily observed in still images taken of fast motion scenes. However, when 1080p material is captured at 25 or 30 frames/second, it is converted to 1080i at 50 or 60 fields/second, respectively, in this situation both fields in a frame do correspond to the same instant. The field-to-instant relation is more complex for the case of 1080p at 24 frames/second converted to 1080i at 60 fields/second. Both field rates can be carried by digital television broadcast formats such as ATSC, DVB. The frame rate can be implied by the context, while the rate is generally specified after the letter i. In this case 1080i60 refers to 60 fields per second, the European Broadcasting Union prefers to use the resolution and frame rate separated by a slash, as in 1080i/30 and 1080i/25, likewise 480i/30 and 576i/25. Resolutions of 1080i60 or 1080i50 often refers to 1080i/30 or 1080i/25 in EBU notation, 1080i is directly compatible with some CRT HDTVs on which it can be displayed natively in interlaced form, but for display on progressive-scan—e. g. Most new LCD and plasma TVs, it must be deinterlaced, depending on the televisions video processing capabilities, the resulting video quality may vary, but may not necessarily suffer. For example, film material at 25fps may be deinterlaced from 1080i50 to restore a full 1080p resolution at the frame rate without any loss. Preferably video material with 50 or 60 motion phases/second is to be converted to 50p or 60p before display, worldwide, most HD channels on satellite and cable broadcast in 1080i. This also allows local newscasts on these ABC affiliates to be produced in the resolution to match the picture quality of their 1080i competitors
3.
576i
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576i is a standard-definition video mode originally used for broadcast television in most countries of the world where the utility frequency for electric power distribution is 50 Hz. Because of its association with the colour encoding system, it is often referred to as simply PAL, PAL/SECAM or SECAM when compared to its 60 Hz NTSC-colour-encoded counterpart. The 576 identifies a vertical resolution of 576 lines, and the i identifies it as an interlaced resolution and its basic parameters common to both analogue and digital implementations are,576 scan lines or vertical pixels of picture content,25 frames per second. Digital information not to be displayed as part of the image can be transmitted in the lines, teletext and other services. Analogue television signals have no pixels, they are rastered in scan lines, in digital applications, the number of pixels per line is an arbitrary choice as long as it fulfils the sampling theorem. Values above about 500 pixels per line are enough for conventional broadcast television, DVB-T, DVD and DV allow better values such as 704 or 720. The video format can be transported by major digital television formats, ATSC, DVB and ISDB, and on DVD, when 576i video is transmitted via baseband, most of the differences between the one-letter systems are no longer significant, other than vertical resolution and frame rate. Digital video uses its own separate space, so even the minor colour space differences between PAL and SECAM become moot in the digital domain. When 576i is used to transmit content that was composed of 25 full progressive frames per second. This is the opposite of NTSC, motion pictures are typically shot on film at 24 frames per second. When telecined and played back at PALs standard of 25 frames per second and this also applies to most TV series that are shot on film or digital 24p. Depending on the system in use, it also slightly increases the pitch of the soundtrack by 70.67 cents. More recently, digital conversion methods have used algorithms which preserve the pitch of the soundtrack. Conversion methods exist that can convert 24 frames per second video to 25 frames per second with no speed increase, however image quality suffers when conversions of this type are used. This method is most commonly employed through conversions done digitally, and is employed in situations where the importance of preserving the speed of the video outweighs the need for image quality. Many movie enthusiasts prefer PAL over NTSC despite the formers speed-up, because the results in telecine judder. States the majority of authorities on the subject favour PAL over NTSC for DVD playback quality, also DVD reviewers often make mention of this cause. For example, in his PAL vs. NTSC article, the founder of MichaelDVD says, Personally, I find all but intolerable and find it very hard to watch a movie on an NTSC DVD because of it
4.
Arabic language
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
5.
English language
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English /ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/ is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England and is now the global lingua franca. Named after the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes that migrated to England, English is either the official language or one of the official languages in almost 60 sovereign states. It is the third most common language in the world, after Mandarin. It is the most widely learned second language and a language of the United Nations, of the European Union. It is the most widely spoken Germanic language, accounting for at least 70% of speakers of this Indo-European branch, English has developed over the course of more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the century, are called Old English. Middle English began in the late 11th century with the Norman conquest of England, Early Modern English began in the late 15th century with the introduction of the printing press to London and the King James Bible, and the start of the Great Vowel Shift. Through the worldwide influence of the British Empire, modern English spread around the world from the 17th to mid-20th centuries, English is an Indo-European language, and belongs to the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages. Most closely related to English are the Frisian languages, and English, Old Saxon and its descendent Low German languages are also closely related, and sometimes Low German, English, and Frisian are grouped together as the Ingvaeonic or North Sea Germanic languages. Modern English descends from Middle English, which in turn descends from Old English, particular dialects of Old and Middle English also developed into a number of other English languages, including Scots and the extinct Fingallian and Forth and Bargy dialects of Ireland. English is classified as a Germanic language because it shares new language features with other Germanic languages such as Dutch, German and these shared innovations show that the languages have descended from a single common ancestor, which linguists call Proto-Germanic. Through Grimms law, the word for foot begins with /f/ in Germanic languages, English is classified as an Anglo-Frisian language because Frisian and English share other features, such as the palatalisation of consonants that were velar consonants in Proto-Germanic. The earliest form of English is called Old English or Anglo-Saxon, in the fifth century, the Anglo-Saxons settled Britain and the Romans withdrew from Britain. England and English are named after the Angles, Old English was divided into four dialects, the Anglian dialects, Mercian and Northumbrian, and the Saxon dialects, Kentish and West Saxon. Through the educational reforms of King Alfred in the century and the influence of the kingdom of Wessex. The epic poem Beowulf is written in West Saxon, and the earliest English poem, Modern English developed mainly from Mercian, but the Scots language developed from Northumbrian. A few short inscriptions from the period of Old English were written using a runic script. By the sixth century, a Latin alphabet was adopted, written with half-uncial letterforms and it included the runic letters wynn ⟨ƿ⟩ and thorn ⟨þ⟩, and the modified Latin letters eth ⟨ð⟩, and ash ⟨æ⟩
6.
Persian language
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Persian, also known by its endonym Farsi, is one of the Western Iranian languages within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan and it is mostly written in the Persian alphabet, a modified variant of the Arabic script. Its grammar is similar to that of many contemporary European languages, Persian gets its name from its origin at the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persis, hence the name Persian. A Persian-speaking person may be referred to as Persophone, there are approximately 110 million Persian speakers worldwide, with the language holding official status in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. For centuries, Persian has also been a cultural language in other regions of Western Asia, Central Asia. It also exerted influence on Arabic, particularly Bahrani Arabic. Persian is one of the Western Iranian languages within the Indo-European family, other Western Iranian languages are the Kurdish languages, Gilaki, Mazanderani, Talysh, and Balochi. Persian is classified as a member of the Southwestern subgroup within Western Iranian along with Lari, Kumzari, in Persian, the language is known by several names, Western Persian, Parsi or Farsi has been the name used by all native speakers until the 20th century. Since the latter decades of the 20th century, for reasons, in English. Tajiki is the variety of Persian spoken in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan by the Tajiks, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term Persian as a language name is first attested in English in the mid-16th century. Native Iranian Persian speakers call it Fārsi, Farsi is the Arabicized form of Pārsi, subsequent to Muslim conquest of Persia, due to a lack of the phoneme /p/ in Standard Arabic. The origin of the name Farsi and the place of origin of the language which is Fars Province is the Arabicized form of Pārs, in English, this language has historically been known as Persian, though Farsi has also gained some currency. Farsi is encountered in some literature as a name for the language. In modern English the word Farsi refers to the language while Parsi describes Zoroastrians, some Persian language scholars such as Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, and University of Arizona professor Kamran Talattof, have also rejected the usage of Farsi in their articles. The international language-encoding standard ISO 639-1 uses the code fa, as its system is mostly based on the local names. The more detailed standard ISO 639-3 uses the name Persian for the dialect continuum spoken across Iran and Afghanistan and this consists of the individual languages Dari and Iranian Persian. Currently, Voice of America, BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty also includes a Tajik service and an Afghan service. This is also the case for the American Association of Teachers of Persian, The Centre for Promotion of Persian Language and Literature, Persian is an Iranian language belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family of languages
7.
Urdu language
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Urdu is a persianized standard register of the Hindustani language. It is the language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also one of the 22 official languages recognized in the Constitution of India, hyderabad, Rampur, Bhopal and Lucknow are noted Urdu-speaking cities of India. Urdu is historically associated with the Muslims of the northern Indian subcontinent, apart from specialized vocabulary, Urdu is mutually intelligible with Standard Hindi, another recognized register of Hindustani. Urdu, like Hindi, is a form of Hindustani, Urdu developed under the influence of the Persian and Arabic languages, both of which have contributed a significant amount of vocabulary to formal speech. Around 99% of Urdu verbs have their roots in Sanskrit and Prakrit, Urdu words originating from Chagatai and Arabic were borrowed through Persian and hence are Persianized versions of the original words. For instance, the Arabic ta marbuta changes to he or te, nevertheless, contrary to popular belief, Urdu did not borrow from the Turkish language, but from Chagatai. Urdu and Turkish borrowed from Arabic and Persian, hence the similarity in pronunciation of many Urdu, Arabic influence in the region began with the late first-millennium Arab invasion of India in the 7th century. The Persian language was introduced into the subcontinent a few centuries later by various Persianized Central Asian Turkic and Afghan dynasties including that of the Delhi Sultanate. With the advent of the British Raj, Persian was no longer the language of administration but Hindustani, still written in the Persian script, the name Urdu was first used by the poet Ghulam Hamadani Mushafi around 1780. From the 13th century until the end of the 18th century Urdu was commonly known as Hindi, the language was also known by various other names such as Hindavi and Dehlavi. The communal nature of the language lasted until it replaced Persian as the language in 1837 and was made co-official. Urdu was promoted in British India by British policies to counter the previous emphasis on Persian and this triggered a Brahman backlash in northwestern India, which argued that the language should be written in the native Devanagari script. At independence, Pakistan established a highly Persianized literary form of Urdu as its national language, English has exerted a heavy influence on both as a co-official language. Owing to interaction with other languages, Urdu has become localized wherever it is spoken, similarly, the Urdu spoken in India can also be distinguished into many dialects like Dakhni of South India, and Khariboli of the Punjab region since recent times. Because of Urdus similarity to Hindi, speakers of the two languages can understand one another if both sides refrain from using specialized vocabulary. The syntax, morphology, and the vocabulary are essentially identical. Thus linguists usually count them as one language and contend that they are considered as two different languages for socio-political reasons
8.
Middle East and North Africa
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The term MENA is an English-language acronym referring to the Middle East and North Africa region. The term MENA covers a region, extending from Morocco to Iran, including all Middle Eastern Mashriq. The term is synonymous with the term the Greater Middle East. The population of the MENA region at its least extent is considered to be around 381 million people, the MENA acronym is often used in academia, military planning, disaster relief, and business writing. Due to the ambiguity and Eurocentric nature of the term Middle East, some people prefer use of the terms Arab World. Both the Arab World and MENA region remain the most common terms and are used by most organizations, academia, the World Bank, UNDP and even the UNSC all use both terms. MENA has no standardized definition, different organizations define the region as consisting of different territories, the following is a list of commonly included countries and territories. Sometimes also included in definitions of MENA, The MENA region has vast reserves of petroleum. According to the Oil and Gas Journal, the MENA region has 60% of the oil reserves. As of 2011,8 of the 12 OPEC nations are within the MENA region, islam is by far the dominant religion in nearly all of the MENA territories,91. 2% of the population is Muslim. The Middle East-North Africa region comprises 20 countries and territories with an estimated Muslim population of 315 million or about 23% of the world’s Muslim population, the term MENA is often defined in part in relation to majority Muslim countries. Of the countries noted in the definition, all except Israel are majority Muslim. From April 2013, the International Monetary Fund started using a new region called MENAP. Now MENAP is prominent economic grouping in IMF reports, the term MENAT has been used to include Turkey in the list of MENA countries. List of business region acronyms Europe, the Middle East and Africa Middle East economic integration Greater Middle East Near East Arab world Arab Spring Arab Winter
9.
South Asia
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Topographically, it is dominated by the Indian Plate, which rises above sea level as Nepal and northern parts of India situated south of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush. South Asia is bounded on the south by the Indian Ocean and on land by West Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, the current territories of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka form the countries of South Asia. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is an economic cooperation organisation in the region which was established in 1985, South Asia covers about 5.1 million km², which is 11. 51% of the Asian continent or 3. 4% of the worlds land surface area. The population of South Asia is about 1.749 billion or about one fourth of the worlds population, overall, it accounts for about 39. 49% of Asias population and is home to a vast array of peoples. The area of South Asia and its extent is not clear cut as systemic. Aside from the region of South Asia, formerly part of the British Empire, there is a high degree of variation as to which other countries are included in South Asia. Modern definitions of South Asia are consistent in including Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar is included by some scholars in South Asia, but in Southeast Asia by others. Some do not include Afghanistan, others question whether Afghanistan should be considered a part of South Asia or the Middle East, the mountain countries of Nepal and Bhutan, and the island countries of Sri Lanka and Maldives are generally included as well. Myanmar is often added, and by various deviating definitions based on often substantially different reasons, the British Indian Ocean Territory, the common concept of South Asia is largely inherited from the administrative boundaries of the British Raj, with several exceptions. The Aden Colony, British Somaliland and Singapore, though administered at various times under the Raj, have not been proposed as any part of South Asia. Additionally Burma was administered as part of the Raj until 1937, the 562 princely states that were protected by but not directly ruled by the Raj became administrative parts of South Asia upon joining Union of India or Dominion of Pakistan. China and Myanmar have also applied for the status of members of SAARC. This bloc of countries include two independent countries that were not part of the British Raj – Nepal, and Bhutan, Afghanistan was a British protectorate from 1878 until 1919, after the Afghans lost to the British in the Second Anglo-Afghan war. The United Nations Statistics Divisions scheme of sub-regions include all eight members of the SAARC as part of Southern Asia, population Information Network includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as part of South Asia. Maldives, in view of its characteristics, was admitted as a member Pacific POPIN subregional network only in principle, the Hirschman–Herfindahl index of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific for the region includes only the original seven signatories of SAARC. The British Indian Ocean Territory is connected to the region by a publication of Janes for security considerations, the inclusion of Myanmar in South Asia is without consensus, with many considering it a part of southeast Asia and others including it within South Asia. Afghanistan was of importance to the British colonial empire, especially after the Second Anglo-Afghan War over 1878–1880, Afghanistan remained a British protectorate until 1919, when a treaty with Vladimir Lenin included the granting of independence to Afghanistan. Following Indias partition, Afghanistan has generally included in South Asia
10.
Dubai
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Dubai is the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates. It is located on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf and is the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the only two emirates to have veto power over critical matters of national importance in the countrys legislature. The city of Dubai is located on the northern coastline. Dubai will host World Expo 2020, Dubai has emerged as a global city and business hub of the Middle East. It is also a transport hub for passengers and cargo. By the 1960s, Dubais economy was based on revenues from trade and, to an extent, oil exploration concessions. Oil revenue first started to flow in 1969, Dubais oil revenue helped accelerate the early development of the city, but its reserves are limited and production levels are low, today, less than 5% of the emirates revenue comes from oil. The emirates Western-style model of business drives its economy with the main revenues now coming from tourism, aviation, real estate, Dubai was recently named the best destination for Muslim travellers by Salam Standard. Dubai has recently attracted attention through many innovative large construction projects and sports events. The city has become iconic for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the worlds tallest building, Dubai has been criticised for human rights violations concerning the citys largely South Asian and Filipino workforce. As of 2012, Dubai was the 22nd most expensive city in the world, in 2014, Dubais hotel rooms were rated as the second most expensive in the world, after Geneva. Dubai was rated as one of the best places to live in the Middle East by U. S. global consulting firm Mercer, Many theories have been proposed as to the origin of the word Dubai. One theory suggests the word was used to describe the souq, another theory states that the name came from a word meaning money, as people from Dubai were commonly believed to be rich due to the thriving trading centre of the location. An Arabic proverb says Daba Dubai, meaning They came with a lot of money, according to Fedel Handhal, a scholar on the UAEs history and culture, the word Dubai may have come from the word daba, referring to the slow flow of Dubai Creek inland. The poet and scholar Ahmad Mohammad Obaid traces it to the same word, an inhabitant or native of the city is a Dubaian. Although stone tools have been found at archaeological sites, little is known about the UAEs early inhabitants as only a few settlements have been found. Many ancient towns in the area were trading centres between the Eastern and Western worlds, the remnants of an ancient mangrove swamp, dated at 7000 BC, were discovered during the construction of sewer lines near Dubai Internet City. The area was covered with sand about 5,000 years ago as the coast retreated inland, pre-Islamic ceramics have been found from the 3rd and 4th centuries
11.
United Arab Emirates
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In 2013, the UAEs population was 9.2 million, of which 1.4 million are Emirati citizens and 7.8 million are expatriates. The country is a federation of seven emirates, and was established on 2 December 1971, the constituent emirates are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain. Each emirate is governed by a monarch, together, they jointly form the Federal Supreme Council. One of the monarchs is selected as the President of the United Arab Emirates, Islam is the official religion of the UAE and Arabic is the official language. The UAEs oil reserves are the seventh-largest in the world while its natural gas reserves are the worlds seventeenth-largest, Sheikh Zayed, ruler of Abu Dhabi and the first President of the UAE, oversaw the development of the Emirates and steered oil revenues into healthcare, education and infrastructure. The UAEs economy is the most diversified in the Gulf Cooperation Council, while its most populous city of Dubai is an important global city, nevertheless, the country remains principally reliant on its export of petroleum and natural gas. The UAE is criticised for its rights record, including the specific interpretations of Sharia used in its legal system. The UAEs rising international profile has led analysts to identify it as a regional. It appears the land of the Emirates has been occupied for thousands of years, there is no proof of contact with the outside world at that stage, although in time it developed with civilisations in Mesopotamia and Iran. This contact persisted and became wide-ranging, probably motivated by trade in copper from the Hajar Mountains, in ancient times, Al Hasa was part of Al Bahreyn and adjoined Greater Oman. Sassanid groups were present on the Batinah coast, in 637, Julfar was an important port that was used as a staging post for the Islamic invasion of the Sassanian Empire. The area of the Al Ain/Buraimi Oasis was known as Tuam and was an important trading post for camel routes between the coast and the Arabian interior. The earliest Christian site in the UAE was first discovered in the 1990s, a monastic complex on what is now known as Sir Bani Yas Island. Thought to be Nestorian and built in 600 AD, the church appears to have been abandoned peacefully in 750 AD and it forms a rare physical link to a legacy of Christianity which is thought to have spread across the peninsula from 50 to 350 AD following trade routes. Certainly, by the 5th century, Oman had a bishop named John – the last bishop of Oman being Etienne, in 676 AD. This led to a group of travelling to Medina, converting to Islam and subsequently driving a successful uprising against the unpopular Sassanids. Following the death of Prophet Muhammad, the new Islamic communities south of the Persian Gulf threatened to disintegrate, with insurrections against the Muslim leaders. The Caliph Abu Bakr sent an army from the capital Medina which completed its reconquest of the territory with the battle of Dibba in which 10,000 lives are thought to have been lost
12.
MBC 1 (Middle East)
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MBC1 is a free-to-air, pan-Arab general television channel. MBC has recently moved its headquarters to Dubai Media City, bringing the process closer to its Arab viewers. MBC1 previously used to air cartoons, western movies and programs before launching MBC2, MBC3, MBC1 HD launched on 1 July 2011. MBC1 rebranded in 2012 to bring a new set of idents, idents are now 9 seconds long, unlike 2009s rebrand, focusing on a cube-ish theme, the channel has a simple look, but rather stylish
13.
MBC 2 (Middle East)
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MBC2 is the first 24-hour free-to-air movie channel in the Arab World. The channel has broadcast as a satellite TV channel since 2003, during its debut, it broadcast movies and television programmes subtitled in Arabic, but after the launch of MBC4 the channel specialised in movies only. MBC2 has managed to negotiate deals with the top Hollywood studios, securing first-run right. MBC2 has secured a deal to show 32 Indian movies after its initial broadcast of Jodhaa Akbar, which was a huge success and was appreciated by the public as well as the advertisers. This, however, ended up on MBC Max instead, due to tying in the Bollywood films as part of the dubbed films package so that these films can be watched by the Arab audience as well. The channel largely targets the Arabic audience, especially young adults, scoop with Raya is a show hosted by Raya Abirached, it talks about the latest Hollywood movies interviewing top Hollywood actors and actresses. MBC2 HD launched in July 1st,2011
14.
MBC 3 (Middle East)
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MBC3 was launched in 2004 as a childrens entertainment channel. The channel focuses on production in Arabic, from edutainment, to game shows. Some of the main productions of the channel include “Eish Safari”, “Tasali Ahla Alam”, “Banat Wa Bass”. MBC3 started airing Nick shows including Victorious, iCarly, Sam and Cat, The Thundermans, puppy, The Fairly OddParents and SpongeBob SquarePants. The Nick Jr. shows including Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go, the Middle East Broadcasting Center produced five exclusive TV children shows for the channel. Banat we Bas is a show on MBC3 aimed mainly for girls. The second season premiered on November 27,2010, eish Safari is a TV reality show produced by the Middle East Broadcasting Center for the channel MBC3. It stars a variety of children from around the Arab World The TV show uses the slogan Haithu la makan illa lil shujan which means Where theres no place except for the brave. MBC3 began airing the 7th season on September 7,2013 but this time itll be hosted by Assala Kamel, the first 6 seasons were hosted by Hassan Al Moula. Qololi Kaif is an encyclopedic TV show for children, which features a scientific subject each episode, with the primary host. Meen Al-Aqwa is a game show for children, which focuses on scientific questions and physical contests. It is an entertaining yet educational show. The winning teams get prizes like Wii, Xbox, and may also get other toys and games, safinat Al-Kanz is an adventure game show. In this show, teams of young explorers try their hands at a series of games. In three rounds, two teams consisting of two kids challenge each other by going through brain teasers, making a mess on a pirate ship, the show started airing on October 1,2008 and ended on October 31,2008. A travel show presented by Hasan Al Moula where he visits the worlds most famous countries, recognizes their habits and food and see their famous sites, a childrens quiz program presented by Dania El Shafie. It consists of 12 questions that present school grades and contestants can win prizes through these grades. The final prize is 50000 R$. It consists of two seasons. The first season premiered on November 27,2010 and ended on February 27,2011, a childrens cooking show presented by Dania El Shafie that consists of two seasons
15.
MBC 4 (Middle East)
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MBC4 launched in 2005, is a Pan Arab television channel targeted towards women and young Arab families. It broadcasts Western content entertainment in addition to locally produced programming. These series include, The Good Wife, The Vampire Diaries, Ringer, The Secret Circle,90210, other Western content aired by the channel includes Greys Anatomy, The Dr. All series are edited for content and include Literary Arabic subtitles, other MBC4 shows include Turkish and Arabic dramas like Ruby, Fatma, Oghneyat Hob, Ba’at Al Ward, Khareef al Hob and Nesa’a Ha’erat. All Turkish & pakistani series are dubbed into Syrian Arabic, MBC4 also has a number of flagship productions, including Hiya wa Huwa, and Arabs Got Talent. MBC4 HD was launched on 1 July 2011, for schedule information, checkout MBC 4s website
16.
MBC Action
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MBC Action is a free-to-air satellite TV channel that screens films and television programs from the action genre began a terrestrial area in the Arab World. Programs are subtitled in Standard Arabic with DVB-T2 only and it is available in the Arab world by satellites Badr-4 and Nilesat 102. It launched on March 5,2007 at 6,00 P. M. with the Pilot episode of the TV series Lost which, along with Prison Break and it also shows new episodes of other shows like 24 and Pimp My Ride. The channel also airs the International Fight League and it also shows action movies on a daily basis. It is aimed mainly at male audiences, unlike its sister channel MBC4 which is aimed at female audiences, on 1st of July,2011 MBC Action HD launched
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MBC Max
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MBC Max is a free-to-air movie channel that broadcasts non-stop Hollywood films 24/7 and it is an alternative to its sister channel MBC2. However, the featured on MBC Max seem milder in content than the films featured on MBC2. The Channel aims to please its young audiences but at the time to keep the experience enjoyable. The number of fans on the Channel’s official Facebook page surpassed One million followers in 2013, MBC Max HD launched on July 1,2011. The other channels of the MBC Group have been promoting MBC Max for a little over a month before its official release, a trial broadcast was launched on October 22,2008, and during that time it simply showed its own promotional TV ad in a loop. The channel was officially launched on October 26 at 7,00 pm U. A. E. As mentioned earlier, MBC Max shows films with milder content than MBC2, the channel does not show any film that contains extreme forms of violence. MBC Max also features MBC3 prints of animated and family films, time, as these films feature the same MBC 3-based, higher-level censorship. It is only important that films do not feature extreme visual violence and this limit, however, is lifted in MBC Maxs new dubbed films package. Additionally, MBC Max broadcasts classical films more often than MBC2, since the majority of Hollywood films from the 1960s, occasionally, MBC Max would broadcast special film packages giving it a greater specialty value than its sister channel MBC2. This was done in response to the great and historic popularity of Disneys animated films among Arab children, despite retaining the English language on MBC Max, the film would still feature Arabic subtitles. This package ran for a time after its Max-debut in April 2009, but due to positive response, originally, since the particular Disney film is being broadcast in the afternoon U. A. E. This package is currently closed as of the end of December 2009, depending on the nature of the film genre, the dubbing is either in standard Arabic, or features a dialect. Oddly, the selection of dubbed films are the type of films that dont get broadcast on MBC Max due to their extreme violent nature. Starting from January 9,2010, MBC Max now features one dubbed film at the usual timings every day of the week, including Fridays, which now features MBC Maxs new Bollywood films package. Any film outside of Thursday will retain to comply with MBC Maxs standardized content and this is most likely due to the increased popularity and interest in the dubbing of American films. It is currently unknown if this package is permanent, after debuting on January 15,2010, MBC Max is scheduled to make a weekly broadcast, every Friday, of a selection of Hindi films. However, these films will be primarily available dubbed in Arabic for MBC Maxs majority Arab audience, the currently known selection of August 2010 includes, Salaam Namaste
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MBC Persia
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MBC Persia is a free-to-air MBC Group channel that originally broadcast Hollywood films 24/7, but circa late 2009 it began featuring a variety of television series alongside the films. The channel even featured advertisements are also of Iranian origin and it debuted its broadcasting on July 9,2008 at 11,30 GMT. On August 25, MBC Persia HD has been encrypted on MY HD Platform, arab TVs MBC adds new language. MBC Persia brings global movies to Persian speakers, official website Unofficial website for MBC Persia for the convenience of Persian speakers
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MBC Bollywood
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MBC Bollywood is a sister channel of Middle East Broadcasting Center which shows contents and programmes from India. It was launched in October 2013, MBC Bollywood broadcasts the latest Bollywood movies and premieres the best from Bollywood. It has an Arabic interface and reaches out to the Arab Bollywood audience in the Middle East, the channel bring to the region the new era of Bollywood that boasts of high end production value, contemporary themes and modern settings. The channel was launched by Bollywood superstar Kareena Kapoor in a performance on reality show Arabs Got Talent which was watched by 50 million people
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SKY Italia
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Sky Italia is an Italian digital satellite television platform owned by Sky plc. It is similar in ways to Sky in the United Kingdom and Sky Ireland in Ireland, which is partly owned by 21st Century Fox. Pay TV services on Sky Italia are encrypted in NDS VideoGuard, the VideoGuard set-top boxes that have been provided since July 2010 are identical to the Sky+ HD boxes used in the UK. Sky Italia was founded in July 2003 by the merger of TELE+, since July 2010 Sky Italia has been giving the Sky Digital Key and the My Sky HD box for free to every new customer. The My Sky boxes launched on 22 November 2005 - based on a new digital receiver with HDD recording capabilities, subsequently, the My Sky HD boxes were added. The My Sky HD service had provided with an extra charge until July 2010. The service is identical to the BSkyB Sky+ HD. On 28 June 2010, Sky Italia changed its brands and logos, Sky Italia offers eight packages of channels, five base-level Channel Packs and three optional Sky Packs enhancements. Sky Primafila has got some similarities to BSkyBs Sky Movies Box Office, the HD service has been offered without any extra charge since 2009. There are 37 HDTV channels so far broadcasting on Sky, due to become 50 by the end of 2011, on 1 October 2010, Sky activated its first 3D channel, Sky Sport 3D, available without any extra cost to the Sport pack subscribers. The very first event Sky Sport 3D aired was the 2010 Ryder Cup, on 25 December 2010, Sky launched another 3D channel, Sky Cinema 3D, airing 3D movies, available for free for Cinema pack subscribers. These channel have been replaced by Sky 3D on 6 September 2011, on many channels, foreign-sourced content is broadcast either with an option to choose between Italian and English language soundtracks, or with Italian subtitles. Sky Italia uses the Hot Bird 6/8/9 satellites at 13. 0°E, Tom Mockridge, the then head of Sky Italia replaced Rebekah Brooks as chief executive of News International after she had resigned on 15 July 2011. Andrea Zappia replaced Tom Mockridge as CEO on 1 August 2011, on 7 October 2011 Sky Italia announced it reached the 5 million subscribers benchmark. The enlarged company would be likely to be called Sky Europe, the sale was announced on 25 July 2014 which was subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. The acquisition was completed on 13 November, March, the European Commission approves the merger between TELE+ and Stream TV. 31 July, Sky Italia is founded, April, Sky Italia abandons SECA encryption system to switch to the NDS, managed by the News Corporation. November, Skys subscribers reach 3 million, may, Sky Italia are awarded the broadcast rights to the 2006 FIFA World Cup
21.
Sky (United Kingdom)
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Sky UK Limited is a telecommunications company which serves the United Kingdom. Sky provides television and broadband services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers. It is the UKs largest pay-TV broadcaster with 11 million customers as of 2015 and it was the UKs most popular digital TV service until it was overtaken by Freeview in April 2007. Its corporate headquarters are based in Isleworth, formed in November 1990 by the equal merger of Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting, Sky became the UKs largest digital subscription television company. Following Skys 2014 acquisition of Sky Italia and a majority 90. 04% interest in Sky Deutschland in November 2014, the United Kingdom operations also changed the company name from British Sky Broadcasting Limited to Sky UK Limited, still trading as Sky. Sky UK Limited is an owned subsidiary of Sky plc, with its current company directors being Andrew Griffith. Griffith acts as the Chief Financial Officer and the Managing Director for the commercial businesses division, after the two companies merged, subscribers could get access to both channels, and later the sports channel Sky Sports also became encrypted. In the autumn of 1991, talks were held for the broadcast rights for Premier League for a five-year period, ITV were the current rights holders, and fought hard to retain the new rights. ITV had increased its offer from £18m to £34m per year to control of the rights. BSkyB joined forces with the BBC to make a counter bid, Murdoch described sport as a battering ram for pay-television, providing a strong customer base. A few weeks after the deal, ITV went to the High Court to get an injunction as it believed their bid details had been leaked before the decision was taken. ITV also asked the Office of Fair Trading to investigate since it believed Rupert Murdochs media empire via its newspapers had influenced the deal. A few days later neither action took effect, ITV believed BSkyB was telephoned and informed of its £262m bid, and Premier League advised BSkyB to increase its counter bid. BSkyB retained the rights paying £670m 1997–2001 deal, but was challenged by On Digital for the rights from 2001–2004, in May 2006, the Irish broadcaster Setanta Sports was awarded two of the six Premier League packages that the English FA offered to broadcasters. Sky picked up the four for £1. 3bn. In February 2015, Sky bid £4. 2bn for a package of 120 premier league games across the three seasons from 2016 and this represented an increase of 70% on the previous contract and was said to be £1bn more than the company had expected to pay. The move has been followed by staff cuts, increased subscription prices, in September 1993, BSkyB launched Sky Multichannels which was the present digital platforms analogue predecessor. Sky Multichannels was a package that gave access not only to Skys own channels
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United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
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Ireland
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Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, in 2011, the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland, the islands geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild, thick woodlands covered the island until the Middle Ages. As of 2013, the amount of land that is wooded in Ireland is about 11% of the total, there are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland. The Irish climate is moderate and classified as oceanic. As a result, winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, however, summers are cooler than those in Continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant, the earliest evidence of human presence in Ireland is dated at 10,500 BC. Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century CE, the island was Christianised from the 5th century onward. Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century, England claimed sovereignty over Ireland, however, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, with the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s and this subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973 the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom, Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the fields of literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, an indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music. The culture of the island shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing. The name Ireland derives from Old Irish Eriu and this in turn derives from Proto-Celtic *Iveriu, which is also the source of Latin Hibernia. Iveriu derives from a root meaning fat, prosperous, during the last glacial period, and up until about 9000 years ago, most of Ireland was covered with ice, most of the time
24.
OSN
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Orbit Showtime Network is a direct-broadcast satellite provider serving the Middle East and North Africa. It offers popular entertainment content such as movies, sporting events and various TV shows from major networks, paramount, HBO, Fox, Disney, Sony, MGM, Universal, ESPN and DreamWorks in addition to local versions specifically for the MENA region. As of 2015 OSN offers 154 television channels and 53 high-definition channels, OSN was formed as a result of merger of two of the Mideasts largest TV networks, Orbit and Showtime Arabia in 2009. The OSN network is owned and operated by Panther Media Group Limited, oSNs corporate headquarters and Broadcast Center are based in Dubai Media City in the United Arab Emirates. OSN introduced several technologies and services in the Middle East market, in 2012 the OSN DVR HD was launched. OSN Play, an online TV platform, Plus HD, a 3D, HD, internet-enabled satellite receiver and recorder and OSN on Demand, the regions first VOD service were all launched in the same year. Showtime Arabia, was launched in 1996 as a joint venture between KIPCO and CBS Corporation and six years after its launch became the number one satellite television platform in MENA. Showtime Arabia continued its growth in the region by adding a range of new channels, in 2008, Showtime Arabia also introduced a video on-demand service, broadcasting full seasons of premier U. S. series and top Hollywood movies. OSN provides 150 channels including 65 HD channels and two on-demand channels, OSN News OSN Sports OSN Movies Orbit Showtime Network opening string of UAE retail outlets. Official website Company profile at Zawya Flysat OSN Package Turner switch off on OSN
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Middle East
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The Middle East is a transcontinental region centered on Western Asia and Egypt. The corresponding adjective is Middle-Eastern and the noun is Middle-Easterner. The term has come into usage as a replacement of the term Near East beginning in the early 20th century. Arabs, Turks, Persians, Kurds, and Azeris constitute the largest ethnic groups in the region by population. Indigenous minorities of the Middle East include Jews, Assyrians and other Arameans, Baloch, Berbers, Copts, Druze, Lurs, Mandaeans, Samaritans, Shabaks, Tats, in the Middle East, there is also a Romani community. European ethnic groups form a diaspora in the region include Albanians, Bosniaks, Circassians, Crimean Tatars, Franco-Levantines. Among other migrant populations are Bengalis as well as other Indians, Chinese, Filipinos, Indonesians, Pakistanis, the history of the Middle East dates back to ancient times, with the importance of the region being recognized for millennia. Most of the countries border the Persian Gulf have vast reserves of crude oil. The term Middle East may have originated in the 1850s in the British India Office, however, it became more widely known when American naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan used the term in 1902 to designate the area between Arabia and India. During this time the British and Russian Empires were vying for influence in Central Asia, Mahan realized not only the strategic importance of the region, but also of its center, the Persian Gulf. Mahan first used the term in his article The Persian Gulf and International Relations, published in September 1902 in the National Review, a British journal. The Middle East, if I may adopt a term which I have not seen, will some day need its Malta, as well as its Gibraltar, it does not follow that either will be in the Persian Gulf. The British Navy should have the facility to concentrate in force if occasion arise, about Aden, India, mahans article was reprinted in The Times and followed in October by a 20-article series entitled The Middle Eastern Question, written by Sir Ignatius Valentine Chirol. During this series, Sir Ignatius expanded the definition of Middle East to include regions of Asia which extend to the borders of India or command the approaches to India. After the series ended in 1903, The Times removed quotation marks from subsequent uses of the term, in the late 1930s, the British established the Middle East Command, which was based in Cairo, for its military forces in the region. After that time, the term Middle East gained broader usage in Europe, the description Middle has also led to some confusion over changing definitions. Before the First World War, Near East was used in English to refer to the Balkans and the Ottoman Empire, while Middle East referred to Iran, the Caucasus, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Turkestan. The first official use of the term Middle East by the United States government was in the 1957 Eisenhower Doctrine, the Associated Press Stylebook says that Near East formerly referred to the farther west countries while Middle East referred to the eastern ones, but that now they are synonymous
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North Africa
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North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of Africa. The United Nationss definition of Northern Africa is, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, the countries of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya are often collectively referred to as the Maghreb, which is the Arabic word for sunset. Egypt lies to the northeast and encompasses part of West Asia, while Sudan is situated on the edge of the Sahel, Egypt is a transcontinental country because of the Sinai Peninsula, which geographically lies in Western Asia. North Africa also includes a number of Spanish possessions, the Canary Islands and Madeira in the North Atlantic Ocean northwest of the African mainland are included in considerations of the region. From 3500 BC, following the abrupt desertification of the Sahara due to changes in the Earths orbit. The Islamic influence in the area is significant, and North Africa is a major part of the Muslim world. Some researchers have postulated that North Africa rather than East Africa served as the point for the modern humans who first trekked out of the continent in the Out of Africa migration. The Atlas Mountains extend across much of Morocco, northern Algeria and Tunisia, are part of the mountain system that also runs through much of Southern Europe. They recede to the south and east, becoming a steppe landscape before meeting the Sahara desert, the sediments of the Sahara overlie an ancient plateau of crystalline rock, some of which is more than four billion years old. Sheltered valleys in the Atlas Mountains, the Nile Valley and Delta, a wide variety of valuable crops including cereals, rice and cotton, and woods such as cedar and cork, are grown. Typical Mediterranean crops, such as olives, figs, dates and citrus fruits, the Nile Valley is particularly fertile, and most of the population in Egypt and Sudan live close to the river. Elsewhere, irrigation is essential to improve yields on the desert margins. The inhabitants of Saharan Africa are generally divided in a manner corresponding to the principal geographic regions of North Africa, the Maghreb, the Nile valley. The edge of the Sahel, to the south of Egypt has mainly been inhabited by Nubians, Ancient Egyptians record extensive contact in their Western desert with people that appear to have been Berber or proto-Berber, as well as Nubians from the south. They have contributed to the Arabized Berber populations, the official language or one of the official languages in all of the countries in North Africa is Arabic. The people of the Maghreb and the Sahara regions speak Berber languages and several varieties of Arabic, the Arabic and Berber languages are distantly related, both being members of the Afroasiatic language family. The Tuareg Berber languages are more conservative than those of the coastal cities. Over the years, Berbers have been influenced by contact with cultures, Greeks, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Romans, Vandals, Arabs, Europeans
27.
Ziggo
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Ziggo is the largest cable operator in the Netherlands, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers. The company is the result of the merger between Multikabel, @Home Network, and Casema and launched officially on 16 May 2008, later followed by a merger with UPC Nederland in the first quarter of 2015, at that time the second largest cable company in the Netherlands. It kept the brand name Ziggo and its main competitors are KPN and CanalDigitaal. Most of the capital was up to 2012 held by holding companies of two private equity firms, Cinven and Warburg Pincus. On 21 March 2012, Ziggo was listed on the NYSE Euronext stock exchange, additionally, there are options traded on the Ziggo share. Cinven and Warburg Pincus started to reduce their stake in Ziggo, in March 2013 Liberty Global acquired a 12. 65% stake in Ziggo. This increased to 15% in April and 28. 5% in July, on 27 January 2014 Liberty Global announced that it would be acquiring all remaining shares in Ziggo for €10 billion. The takeover was subject to approval and was expected to close by the second quarter of 2014. In May 2014 the European Commission announced opening an investigation to assess whether the proposed acquisition of Ziggo by Liberty Global is in line with the EU Merger Regulation. The opening of an in-depth inquiry does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation, in November 2014 Liberty Global took over Ziggo. In December 2014 the shares of Ziggo N. V. were delisted from Euronext Amsterdam as Ziggo was converted into the Dutch private limited company Ziggo Holding B. V, on 5 January 2015 Ziggo started to harmonize its cable network with the UPC Nederland cable network. The name UPC was finally phased out in favor of Ziggo on 13 April 2015, on 15 February 2016, British telecommunications company Vodafone announced the merger of their Dutch operations Vodafone Netherlands with Liberty Global, the owner of Ziggo. The deal was closed on 31 December, creating a new parent company for both Ziggo and Vodafone, called VodafoneZiggo, with a 50/50 joint ownership by Liberty Global, in 2014 the Ziggo cable network passed 6.983 million homes in the Netherlands. Ziggo offers analog and digital television to 4.089 million subscribers of which 3.321 million watch digital. In recent years the number of analogue channels has been reduced to make bandwidth available for digital HD channels. At the moment Ziggo uses both the Nagravision and Irdeto conditional access system, nevertheless, about 40 TV channels and also 40 radio channels are transmitted in clear. Basic service is called Kabel TV and includes both analogue and digital channels, consists of about 40 digital and 25 analogue television channels and it consists of all the major Dutch networks and some of the main networks of neighbouring countries. Additional TV and radio channels are available through TV Standard, Movies & Series XL, every additional package comes with Stingray Music which offers 35 additional radio channels, as well as interactive video on demand services
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IPTV
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Unlike downloaded media, IPTV offers the ability to stream the source media continuously. As a result, a client media player can begin playing the data almost immediately and this is known as streaming media. Although IPTV uses the Internet protocol it is not limited to television media streamed from the Internet, IPTV in the telecommunications arena is notable for its ongoing standardisation process. Historically, many different definitions of IPTV have appeared, including elementary streams over IP networks, transport streams over IP networks and these services may include, for example, Live TV, Video On Demand and Interactive TV. These services are delivered across an access agnostic, packet switched network that employs the IP protocol to transport the audio, video, the term IPTV first appeared in 1995 with the founding of Precept Software by Judith Estrin and Bill Carrico. Precept developed an Internet video product named IP/TV, the software was written primarily by Steve Casner, Karl Auerbach, and Cha Chee Kuan. Precept was acquired by Cisco Systems in 1998, Internet radio company AudioNet started the first continuous live webcasts with content from WFAA-TV in January 1998 and KCTU-LP on January 10,1998. The operator added additional VoD service in October 2001 with Yes TV, kingston was one of the first companies in the world to introduce IPTV and IP VoD over ADSL as a commercial service. The service became the reference for various changes to UK Government regulations, in 2006, the KIT service was discontinued, subscribers having declined from a peak of 10,000 to 4,000. In 1999, NBTel was the first to commercially deploy Internet protocol television over DSL in Canada using the Alcatel 7350 DSLAM, the service was marketed under the brand VibeVision in New Brunswick, and later expanded into Nova Scotia in early 2000 after the formation of Aliant. IMagic TV was later sold to Alcatel, in 2002, Sasktel was the second in Canada to commercially deploy Internet Protocol video over DSL, using the Lucent Stinger DSL platform. In 2005, SureWest Communications was the first North American company to offer high-definition television channels over an IPTV service, in 2005, Bredbandsbolaget launched its IPTV service as the first service provider in Sweden. As of January 2009, they are not the biggest supplier any longer, TeliaSonera, in 2007, TPG became the first internet service provider in Australia to launch IPTV. Complementary to its ADSL2+ package this was, and still is, free of charge to customers on eligible plans and now offers over 45 local free to air channels, by 2010, iiNet and Telstra launched IPTV services in conjunction to internet plans but with extra fees. In 2008, PTCL launched IPTV under the name of PTCL Smart TV in Pakistan. S. Markets with an IPTV service called Prism and this was after successful test marketing in Florida. During the 2014 Winter Olympics Shortest path bridging was used to deliver 36 IPTV HD Olympic channels, in 2016, KCTV introduced the Set-top box called Manbang, claiming to provide video-on-demand services in North Korea via quasi-internet protocol television. According to KCTV, viewers can use the service not only in Pyongyang, stating that the demands for the equipment are particularly high in Sinuiju, with several hundred users in the region
29.
Free (ISP)
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Free is a French telecommunications company, subsidiary of Iliad that provides voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications to consumers in France. Its head office is in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, Free provides ISP services in France and in the 30 OECD countries. Developing its own 3G and 4G networks, Free Mobile was launched in 2012, Free was the third ISP in France to offer Internet access without a subscription or a surcharged phone number, on 26 April 1999. Unlike its predecessors in the niche of access without subscription, Frees offer was not restricted in time or number of subscribers, in 2002, Free was the first ISP to provide a V.92 connection. Since September 2002, Free contributed significantly to French ADSL boom, the offer was able to launch as soon as the incumbent was forced to stop abuse of dominant position and to apply fair wholesale prices. Unbundling, in France, refers to the obligation for the incumbent carrier France Telecom to lease the Local loop, because it is a natural monopoly. Free has to pay a fee of €9 per month. Although more expensive than the real cost of €7.63, since January 2003, a Freenaut has maintained an unofficial website showing figures and graphics about Free unbundled network deployment. Another Freenaut website has provided network status monitoring maps Unbundling status and these initiatives are made possible thanks to the transparency of Frees network, their equipment replies to ping and has a meaningful reverse DNS. On 11 November 2006, Free announced the deployment of a new fiber to the network for its subscribers. The initial plans goal is to cover Paris as well as towns in the Paris suburbs. By December 2007, the work was 30% finished, and the work was progressing at a furious pace. On 31 August 2007, Free updated the offer more details. Download bandwidth shall be 100 Mbit/s and TV services shall be available for two televisions, at the price of €29. 99/month. Free has developed its own fiber network technology, called Iliad P2P, based on Ethernet in the First Mile, high curvature optic fibers are manufactured by the Dutch company Draka. The deployment is still essentially in the phase, and large-scale deployment to customers is foreseen. On 26 June 2008, Maxime Lombardini and the mayor inaugurated Frees FTTH network in a district of Montpellier. On March 2008, Iliad made the commitment to cover Paris at 75% by the half of 2009
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Modern Standard Arabic
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Modern Standard Arabic, Standard Arabic, or Literary Arabic is the standardized and literary variety of Arabic used in writing and in most formal speech. It is considered a pluricentric language, MSA is based on classical Arabic, and differences between the two varieties of the language are directly related to modernizing and simplification, both in speaking and writing styles. Classical Arabic, also known as Quranic Arabic, is the used in the Quran as well as in numerous literary texts from Umayyad. Many Muslims study Classical Arabic in order to read the Quran in its original language, Modern Standard Arabic is the literary standard across the Middle East, North Africa, Horn of Africa and is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Most printed matter in the Arab League—including most books, newspapers, magazines, official documents and they are not normally written, although a certain amount of literature exists in many of them. Literary Arabic is the language of all Arab League countries and is the only form of Arabic taught in schools at all stages. Additionally, some Christian Arabic speakers recite prayers in it, as it is considered the literary language and this diglossic situation facilitates code-switching in which a speaker switches back and forth between the two dialects of the language, sometimes even within the same sentence. People speak MSA as a language if they speak other languages native to a country as their first language. Modern Standard Arabic is also spoken by people of Arab descent outside the Arab world when people of Arab descent speaking different dialects communicate each other, as there is a prestige or standard dialect of vernacular Arabic, speakers of standard colloquial dialects code-switch between these particular dialects and MSA. For these reasons, Modern Standard Arabic is generally treated separately in non-Arab sources, Arabic sources generally tend to regard MSA and Classical Arabic as different registers of one and the same language. Speakers of Modern Standard Arabic do not always observe the rules of Classical Arabic grammar. On the whole, Modern Standard Arabic is not homogeneous, there are authors who write in a very close to the classical models. As MSA is a revised and simplified form of Classical Arabic, as diglossia is involved, various Arabic dialects freely borrow words from MSA, this situation is similar to Romance languages, wherein scores of words were borrowed directly from formal Latin. It depends on the knowledge and attitude to the grammar of Classical Arabic, as well as the region. Pronunciation of foreign names in MSA is loose, names can be pronounced or even spelled differently in different regions, pronunciation also depends on the persons education, linguistic knowledge and abilities. Modern languages have also influenced pronunciation or word order. Examples are Turkish and English in Egypt, French in North Africa, Lebanon and Syria, English and Hebrew in Israel, notes, the marginal phoneme /ɫ/ only occurs in the word الله /aɫːaːh/ and words derived from it. /u/ can also have different realizations, i. e and they are distinct phonemes in loan words
31.
Al Jazeera
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Al Jazeera, also known as JSC, is a Doha-based state-funded broadcaster owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which is partly funded by the House of Thani, the ruling family of Qatar. Al Jazeera is among the largest news organizations with 80 bureaus around the world, Al Jazeera is owned by the government of Qatar. While Al Jazeera officials have stated that they are independent from the government of Qatar. Nonetheless, Al Jazeera declared the exposure and denunciation of the lies which brought the State of Israel into existence as its mission, the original Al Jazeera channels willingness to broadcast dissenting views, for example on call-in shows, created controversies in the Arab States of the Persian Gulf. The station gained attention following the outbreak of war in Afghanistan. Al Jazeera has been called a propaganda outlet for the Qatari government and its policy, by analysts and by news reporters. The network is sometimes perceived to have mainly Islamist perspectives, promoting the Muslim Brotherhood, and having a pro-Sunni and it is also accused of having an anti-Western bias. However, Al Jazeera insists it covers all sides of a debate, it says it presents Israels view, Irans view, in Arabic, al-ǧazīrah literally means the island. However, it here to the Arabian Peninsula, which is شبه الجزيرة العربية šibh al-ğazīrah al-ʿarabiyyah. Al Jazeera Satellite Channel now known as was launched on 1 November 1996 following the closure of the BBCs Arabic language television station, a joint venture with Orbit Communications Company. The BBC channel had closed after a year and a half when the Saudi government attempted to suppress information, including a report on executions. Shares were held by investors as well as the Qatar government. Al Jazeeras first day on the air was 1 November 1996 and it offered 6 hours of programming per day, increased to 12 hours by the end of 1997. A more powerful Ku-band transponder became available as a peace-offering after its user, Canal France International, accidentally beamed 30 minutes of pornography into ultraconservative Saudi Arabia. Al Jazeera was not the first such broadcaster in the Middle East, a number had appeared since the Arabsat satellite, the unfolding of Operation Desert Storm on CNN International underscored the power of live television in current events. In presenting The opinion and the opinion, it did not take long for Al Jazeera to shock local viewers by presenting Israelis speaking Hebrew on Arab TV for the first time. Lively and far-ranging talk shows, particularly a popular, confrontational one called The Opposite Direction, were a constant source of controversy regarding issues of morality and this prompted a torrent of criticism from the conservative voices among the regions press. It also led to complaints and censures from neighboring governments
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Dubai Media City
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Dubai Media City, part of Dubai Holding, is a tax-free zone within Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Dubai Media City was established in 2000, the groundwork for infrastructure was already in place for firms to set up easily and its visa and operational procedures are relaxed for firms operating within DMC. Dubai Media City is the hub for the industry in the GCC and Middle East, with more than 1,300 companies registered under the Free Zone. It also houses the International Cricket Council, the body of the game of cricket in the world. It was previously situated in London until 2005, later policy makers in Dubai permitted these channels to air their entertainment programs, but news, current affairs and political analysis were forbidden to be aired. Later, however, the conditions were removed but a difference has been observed in the coverage of Geo TV. While Dubai Internet City sells itself as an environment with excellent connectivity. On January 30,2008 an incident revealed the size of problem, there was a significant slowdown of communications. The UAE telecommunications company and DMC’s internet service provider du EITC was one of the worst hit, since du EITC has a monopoly in the Free Zones, customers had no alternative connectivity during the outage. On 19 December 2008 the three submarine cables between Italy and Egypt were damaged again, disrupting Internet and telephone communications between UAE and Europe, as reported by Bloomberg, there will be over 84 towers in the Dubai Media City
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Saudi Arabia
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Saudi Arabia is bordered by Jordan and Iraq to the north, Kuwait to the northeast, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to the east, Oman to the southeast and Yemen to the south. It is separated from Israel and Egypt by the Gulf of Aqaba and it is the only nation with both a Red Sea coast and a Persian Gulf coast and most of its terrain consists of arid desert and mountains. The area of modern-day Saudi Arabia formerly consisted of four regions, Hejaz, Najd and parts of Eastern Arabia. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Ibn Saud and he united the four regions into a single state through a series of conquests beginning in 1902 with the capture of Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud. Saudi Arabia has since been a monarchy, effectively a hereditary dictatorship governed along Islamic lines. The ultraconservative Wahhabi religious movement within Sunni Islam has been called the predominant feature of Saudi culture, with its global spread largely financed by the oil and gas trade. Saudi Arabia is sometimes called the Land of the Two Holy Mosques in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, the state has a total population of 28.7 million, of which 20 million are Saudi nationals and 8 million are foreigners. The states official language is Arabic, petroleum was discovered on 3 March 1938 and followed up by several other finds in the Eastern Province. Saudi Arabia has since become the worlds largest oil producer and exporter, controlling the second largest oil reserves. The kingdom is categorized as a World Bank high-income economy with a high Human Development Index and is the only Arab country to be part of the G-20 major economies. However, the economy of Saudi Arabia is the least diversified in the Gulf Cooperation Council, the state has attracted criticism for its treatment of women and use of capital punishment. Saudi Arabia is an autocracy, has the fourth highest military expenditure in the world. Saudi Arabia is considered a regional and middle power, in addition to the GCC, it is an active member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and OPEC. Following the unification of the Hejaz and Nejd kingdoms, the new state was named al-Mamlakah al-ʻArabīyah as-Suʻūdīyah by royal decree on 23 September 1932 by its founder, Abdulaziz Al Saud. Although this is translated as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in English it literally means the Saudi Arab kingdom. Its inclusion expresses the view that the country is the possession of the royal family. Al Saud is an Arabic name formed by adding the word Al, meaning family of or House of, in the case of the Al Saud, this is the father of the dynastys 18th century founder, Muhammad bin Saud. There is evidence that human habitation in the Arabian Peninsula dates back to about 125,000 years ago
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Middle East Broadcasting Center
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The Middle East Broadcasting Center Group is the first private free-to-air satellite broadcasting company in the Arab World. It was launched in London in 1991 and later moved to its headquarters in Dubai in 2002, MBC Group provides multiple channels of information, interaction and entertainment. The Group also includes two stations, MBC FM, and Panorama FM, as well as O3 productions. MBC is a free-to-air, pan-Arab, news and entertainment broadcaster and it was launched in 1991 as the first privately owned and independent Arabic satellite TV station. MBC was the first broadcaster to provide a satellite-based free-to-air 24-hour television network across the Arab world and it has remained privately owned, managed by a group of businessmen and shareholders, including chairman and CEO Sheikh Waleed Bin Ibrahim Al Brahim. The shareholder list has never been verified, over the past 25 years, MBC has grown into a multi-channel platform. At its launch, MBC offered entertainment programmes that were popular in the Middle East as well as top-rating shows from Western markets, in particular the United States. The MBC News at 9, 00pm became regularly viewed in the Arabic-speaking world, MBCs television arm, MBC TV, broadcasts via Arabsat and Nilesat satellites, and delivers news and entertainment to more than 150 million Arabic speakers around the world. MBC Headquarters is located in Dubai Media City, the company has more than 1,800 staff members worldwide. The first station in the group, MBC1 offers offer both Arabic entertainment and news content, MBC News at 9 pm provides coverage of domestic and international news. MBC has become regions first broadcaster to provide free to air HD channels by launching the HD versions of MBC1, MBC DRAMA, MBC4, MBC2, MBC MAX, MBC ACTION, all of MBC channel are free-to-air channels except for the HD channels and MBC Plus Variety. They are available on OSN, STCs Invision IPTV and my-HD satellite service and they are all Pay-TV service providers in the Middle East. Launched in 1991 as the first independent Pan Arab channel, MBC1 is the first free-to-air private satellite channel, today, hosting the news service in the region and with a commitment to local programming- from soap operas to hit reality TV shows. The first free-to-air movie channel in the Arab world, MBC2 offers a 24-hour non-stop stream of Hollywood movies, from blockbusters to classics, long kisses on the lips and any sexual related acts are cut from the films. A children’s entertainment channel which delivers a mix of childrens education. MBC3 also airs a locally produced reality show for kids, Eish Safari, recently, the channel produced a new game show called Graduate In A Day, similar in concept to Who Wants To Be A Millionaire for children and their parents. Today, the channel is geared towards MBC own production, based on international formats, the channel has aired the biggest production for the Group, Arabs Got Talent, in addition to various other shows, some MBC produced, others co-produced or through acquisitions. MBC launched MBC Bollywood on 26 October 2013, the day as the season three premiere of Arabs Got Talent
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Iraq
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The capital, and largest city, is Baghdad. The main ethnic groups are Arabs and Kurds, others include Assyrians, Turkmen, Shabakis, Yazidis, Armenians, Mandeans, Circassians, around 95% of the countrys 36 million citizens are Muslims, with Christianity, Yarsan, Yezidism, and Mandeanism also present. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish, two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. These rivers provide Iraq with significant amounts of fertile land, the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, historically known as Mesopotamia, is often referred to as the cradle of civilisation. It was here that mankind first began to read, write, create laws, the area has been home to successive civilisations since the 6th millennium BC. Iraq was the centre of the Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian and it was also part of the Median, Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Ayyubid, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires. Iraqs modern borders were mostly demarcated in 1920 by the League of Nations when the Ottoman Empire was divided by the Treaty of Sèvres, Iraq was placed under the authority of the United Kingdom as the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. A monarchy was established in 1921 and the Kingdom of Iraq gained independence from Britain in 1932, in 1958, the monarchy was overthrown and the Iraqi Republic created. Iraq was controlled by the Arab Socialist Baath Party from 1968 until 2003, after an invasion by the United States and its allies in 2003, Saddam Husseins Baath Party was removed from power and multi-party parliamentary elections were held in 2005. The American presence in Iraq ended in 2011, but the Iraqi insurgency continued and intensified as fighters from the Syrian Civil War spilled into the country, the Arabic name العراق al-ʿIrāq has been in use since before the 6th century. There are several suggested origins for the name, one dates to the Sumerian city of Uruk and is thus ultimately of Sumerian origin, as Uruk was the Akkadian name for the Sumerian city of Urug, containing the Sumerian word for city, UR. An Arabic folk etymology for the name is rooted, well-watered. During the medieval period, there was a region called ʿIrāq ʿArabī for Lower Mesopotamia and ʿIrāq ʿajamī, for the region now situated in Central and Western Iran. The term historically included the south of the Hamrin Mountains. The term Sawad was also used in early Islamic times for the region of the plain of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. In English, it is either /ɪˈrɑːk/ or /ɪˈræk/, the American Heritage Dictionary, the pronunciation /aɪˈræk/ is frequently heard in U. S. media. Since approximately 10,000 BC, Iraq was one of centres of a Caucasoid Neolithic culture where agriculture, the following Neolithic period is represented by rectangular houses. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gypsum, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations
